Automobile-horn.



R. H. MANSON.

AUTOMOBlLE HORN.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE]. I912.

Patented Jjlne 22, 1915.

1/7 l/enfor R0 Hanson THE NORRIS PETERS 50., PHOTOJJAHUH WADHINGTON, D. C4

IINITD $1" RAY H. MANSON, or ELYniA, on'ro, ASSIGNOR To THE GARFOBD Manuracrunms COMPANY, or ELYRIA, OHIO, A. conroaarioiv or OHIO.

AUTOMOBILE-HORN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1915.

Application filed Inns 7, 1912. Serial No. 702,183.

clear, and exact description of the invention,-

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My inventionrelates to'signaling devices,

- and more particularly to devices of that character adapted to be used upon'automobiles, motor boats and other vehicles, though of course, I do not wish to be limited to this use, since my invention applies to fog horns and signaling devices of a similar nature.

So far as I am aware, the use of devices of this kind, before I entered the field, was limited to a device adapted to produce a single signal. This signal is usually of a harsh objectionable tone, such as frequently angers'the person warned, disturbs traffic in the day and sleep by night. Some of the signal devices have been so objectionable that police ordinances have prohibited their use in certain jurisdictions. On the other hand, those which have produced only a low tone have been objectionable for the reason that they fail to give the desired warning when there is an emergency, when it is desired to warn a person at a distance, or the driver of a noisy vehicle. In order to meet these situations, many people have resorted to the employment of two horns, one giving a low note and the other giving a high note. This is objectionable for many reasons. In the first place,it is necessary for the driver to use his mind in deciding which signal he wishes to employ and in selecting the controlling means for the operation of the particular signal. In order to do this, he must detract his attention from the driving of the vehicle at a time when it is most required quently throws the machine into rough ground at the side of the road or adjacent to dangerous ditches, etc., where the steering is of the utmost importance. In the second place, it litters the already crowded front of the car with apparatus which increases the care and the expense of cleaning and maintaining the car. Moreoverfit is expensive to provide two signaling devices.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a single device which is capable of giving two signalsone loud in tone, suitable for warning people at a distance, in emergencies or in noisy surroundings, and second, a service signal which is low in note, but which is adequate to warn people in urban districts or in crowded thoroughfares. This signal should be of a note which is not objectionable, but which is nevertheless loud enough to serve these purposes. By this I greatly reduce the expense not only of providing the signals, but of maintaining the car accessories and of keeping them clean.

Another object of my invention is to provide means which may be operated without detracting the attention from the operation of the vehicle, without the driver having to think which signal it is desired to operate, and without his having to move his hands from the steering wheel. To accomplish this, I provide contiguous controlling devices for the horn, which devices control the production of the different signals.

I am aware that heretofore a single horn has been provided controlled by a plurality of devices mounted upon dilferent parts of the car, but these were incapable of being operated to produce different tones by the driver without his having to think which controlling device to operate to produce a certain tone, or without his having to move his hand for the purpose of controlling the operation of the horn. I find it desirable to place these controlling devices so close together that they may be operated by the thumb of the driver. In fact, it is preferable to place them so close together that both may be operated without moving the thumb except by rocking or further depressing it. For example, I may employ in the electrically controlled devices a plurality of push buttons mounted contiguous to each other, as in the forms illustrated in the drawings.

Other objects of my invention and the invention itself will be better understood from the detailed description of the forms gram of the circuit connections is illustrated. Fig. 2 illustrates one method of the association of the contiguous controlling devices. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of another device illustrating the association of the contiguous controlling devices. Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section through the device shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 6 is a view of the connections employed in the device shown in Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, the covers having been removed.

Referring now to the drawings and to the illustrations of my invention shown therein, at 7 is shown the frame of an automobile horn and at 8 and 9 the front and rear parts respectively of the casing, which, when connected together form a chamber 10. An opening 11 is provided in the front 8 for the egress of sound waves and a resonator 12 is preferably mounted in this opening. A sonorous member, such as a vibratile diaphragm 13, is mounted in the chamber 10, preferably by clamping its edges between the parts 8 and 9.

I provide means for actuating the member 13 to cause it to sound a signal, and in the form shown, I have employed electrically controlled means illustrated by an electromagnet 14-. The magnet 14 controls an armature 1.5, adapted to vibrate the member 13. I may employ means to transmit the blows from the armature to the diaphragm, and I have here illustrated an anvil 16 for this purpose. Suitable means for furnishing energy to the electromagnet is employed, and may consist of a storage battery B. One terminal of the electromagnet is connected through a conductor 17 to the vibratile armature 15, which is connected through a spring 18 to a contact 19 carried thereby. The contact 19 cooperates with the contact 20, preferably mounted upon the frame in any suitable manner. The contact 20 is connected by a conductor 21 to one tcrminal of the battery B. The other terminal of the battery B is connected to one of the parts of one of the contiguous con trolling devices, here shown as a spring 22. The spring 22 is connected through a current modifying device 23, here shown as a non-inductive resistance, to a second spring 2 L of the other contiguous controlling device. The first named contiguous controlling device is provided with a spring 25 adapted to cooperate with the spring 22, and connected through the base 26 with a spring 27 companion to the spring 24:. While I have here illustrated springs, any suitable contact carrying device may be employed, and I may as shown, construct the parts 25, 26 and 27 of a single sheet of metal.

The member 26 is connected to the other terminal of the electromagnet by a conductor 28. At 29 I show means for operating the switch, composed of the contact springs 22 and 25 and at 30, means contiguous thereto for operating the switch composed of the springs 24: and 27. These means consist preferably of push buttons, being the complements of each other. In the form shown, each is a section of a cylinder, so that when fitted together, they constitute a cylinder. They are best made equal in size to each other.

The operation of the device illustrated in Fig. 1 is as follows :Should it be desired to give the low tone, the edge of the thumb is pressed against the button 30, connecting the contacts 2st and 27. The button 30 may be mounted adjacent the edge of the steering wheel, so that it is natural for the driver to lay the edge of his thumb against this button first. The connection of the contact springs 24 and 27 completes a circuit through the magnet 1%, the battery I3 and the current modifying device 23 as follows :27- 2S1417192021I523. The magnet will then attract its armature, flexing the diaphragm and opening the contacts 19 and 20, and will continue to operate upon the well known rheotome principle as long as the circuitis in this condition. However, should it be desired to give the loud signal, the thumb is either rocked so as to engage he button 29, or is pushed over to embrace them both, so that the springs 22 and 25 engage, completing a circuit around the resistance 23 and shunting this resistance out, so that the energy supplied the magnet now will be greater and the blows imparted to the diaphragm will be likewise greater, whereby a louder signal will be produced. It will thus be seen that the two signals may be produced without the driver detracting his attention from the driving of the machine, or without his thinking. This results from the proximity of the buttons to each other, for were they mounted any distance apart, it would be necessary for him to move his hand to reach the right button and generally his eyes to direct his hand to the desired button. In my invention, however, it will never be necessary to remove the eyes from the road, since the two buttons being mounted in close relation, can be operated to select the signal unconsciously.

In the form shown in Fig. 2 I show a casing 10 in which the buttons are mounted and which is adapted to be mounted in any suit able position, such for example as upon one of the spokes of the steering wheel. In this form, the button 30 is normally higher than the button 29 so that to produce the low signal, it is only necessary to depress the button 30, whereas to produce the loud signal, the pressure of the thumb is increased and both buttons depressed. By thus mounting the buttons contiguous to each other, I enable the driver to operate them both without moving his hand.

In Fig. 3 I show a bracket 41 for connecting the casing 40 to the desired part of the vehicle. In this form, the buttons 30 and 29 have their surfaces substantially flush with one another. I find thatthis arrangement is suitable for most contingencies, since the buttons may be operated simply by rocking the thumb or pushing it over.

In the section shown in Fig. 5, the casing is illustrated as consisting of a bottom part 42 and a top 43. The top 43 has an opening A therein and a boss 45 formed around this opening preferably by turning up the edge of the opening. This restricts the downward motion of the buttons. The buttons are provided with an annular flange 46 which engages the under side of the top around the edge of the opening, limiting the upward movement of the buttons, which are spring pressed upward by the springs 27 and 28. When the thumb is removed from the push button, and the same released, the springs 25 and 27 will of course restore the system to normal and the horn Will no longer be actuated.

While I have described and illustrated these particular embodiments of my invention and the particular use therefor, I do not wish to be limited to these forms or the particular use mentioned, as it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that numerous and extensive departures from the forms and details of the apparatus here shown may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim 1. As an article of manufacture, the combination of a casing, contact springs in said casing, and complementary push buttons each consisting of a segment of a cylinder mounted contiguous to each other in said casing and controlling said contact springs, said buttons mutually sustaining each other.

2. As an article of manufacture, the combination of a casing, a plurality of contact springs mounted in said casing, a plurality of complementary push buttons, each consisting of a segment approximating a half cylinder, mounted contiguous to each other in said casing to reciprocate therein and controlling said contact springs, said buttons mutually sustaining each other.

3. As an article of manufacture, the combination of a casing having an opening therein, a plurality of contact springs in said casing, complementary push buttons each Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 7

consisting of a segment of a cylinder mounted in said casing and projecting through the opening, said push buttons having flanges adapted to engage the edge of the opening in the casing, said push buttons controlling said contact springs.

4. As an article of manufacture, the combination of a casing having an opening therein, a boss around the edge of said opening, a plurality of contacts in said casing, complementary push buttons mounted in the opening in said casing and having their sides engage the boss about the edges, said push buttons engaging the under side of the edge of the opening when said push buttons are in normal position, such push buttons controlling said contacts.

5. As an article of manufacture, the combination of a casing having an opening therein, contact springs mounted in said casing and complementary push buttons controlling said springs, said buttons mounted in said casing and projecting through the opening therein, one of said buttons being longer than the other and when in normal position having its upper surface above the upper surface of the shorter button, said buttons being depressed simultaneously.

6. As an article of manufacture, the com-' bination of a casing having an opening therein, a boss around the edge of said opening, a plurality of contacts in said casing, a pair of push buttons mounted in said casing and projecting through the opening, each button being the complement of the other and the two together constituting a substantially cylindrical device, the outer cylindrical surface engaging said boss and the but tons mutually sustaining each other through engagement at the inner surfaces, one of said buttons being longer than the other, means holding the buttons in normal position with the upper surface of the shorter button below the upper surface of the longer button, said means permitting the depression of the buttons separately or together when the longer is depressed until the upper surfaces are substantially flush, and electrical contacts controlled by said buttons.

In testimony whereof, I afliX my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RAY H. MANSON.

Witnesses:

EDGAR A. SPURR, F. O. RIoHEY.

Washington, D. 0. 

